The intent of our maths curriculum

At Holy Family School, we aim for pupils to develop a mastery of maths by allowing them to develop a long, deep and secure understanding of mathematical concepts. This understanding of maths will enable our pupils to succeed by giving them the skills for later in their lives, including money, measures and logical problems which they will need as adults. It will also inspire many of them to study maths further in their careers.

We do this by:

• Taking small, manageable steps each lesson to help pupils access more difficult concepts.
• Exposing pupils to a variety of representations for different areas of maths
• Helping pupils make connections, spot patterns and ask questions.
• Encouraging pupils to be clear in their reasoning about mathematics through self-explanations and written reasoning, using key vocabulary.
• Be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, such as number facts to 20 and times tables.

Scheme

At Holy Family we use a range of resources to aid teachers deliver quality first teaching. We follow the NCETM curriculum prioritisation scheme, which is based around helping pupils understand the ready-to-progress criteria in depth. Teachers use the NCETM resources, as well as other schemes such as White Rose, to support planning and resourcing.  Teachers follow a curriculum overview that takes the class through one area of maths at a time to ensure pupils master the content.

 

Teaching strategies

• Children are encouraged to discuss the maths and notice patterns with the teacher during the lesson.
• Pupils practice their fluency through 'Try it, Use it, Prove it' challenges which require pupils to use written reasoning too.
• 'Five and Thrive' challenges are used to retrieve previously taught content twice a week in lessons. 
• Children are encouraged to use manipulatives wherever possible to cement their understanding of the ‘concrete-pictorial-abstract’. These are accessible in every classroom.
• In KS1, classes take part in the 'Mastering Number' scheme which involves mastering number facts within 20 to automaticity.
• In KS2, there is great focus on becoming confident and fluent at times tables by the end of Year 4. This is practised daily through the 'Ashley Down Times Tables' scheme.

 

Assessment

We assess children at three intervals during the year. Age related bands are informed by teacher assessment of objectives over time. Children should be assessed as meeting an objective if they have ‘mastered’ it. This means they are able to do it and explain it at any point. In Year Six, the children do mock SATs tests. In Year One, Year Two, Year Three, Year Four and Year Five, the children complete a variety of assessments to inform teacher judgement.

 

Parental involvement

Parents are encouraged to assist their children in number facts/times tables through regular practice at home. Pupils are highly encouraged to practice previous content through weekly homework challenges at KS2. Regular celebrations and school challenges are set in school to motivate pupils in extra maths practice.

 

EYFS

At EYFS, we ensure that all children develop a secure mathematical foundation and meet their Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception. In order to do this, we use the non-statutory curriculum guidance in the Development Matters 2021. Pupils focus on a different number from 0-10 while learning new skills such as subitising, adding 1 more or 1 less and representing numbers. This is mainly done through the 'Mastering Number' scheme.